Northwest Indian College’s Cooperative Extension Department recently received a $37,500 grant from the First Nations Development Institute (FNDI) to support the college’s Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project, a project that aims to increase access to traditional and local healthy foods within the Muckleshoot community.

“It is really exciting to have the opportunity to create a cohesive and collective vision for what a vibrant and healthy food system will look like in our community,” said Valerie Segrest, Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project Coordinator. “Even more inspiring is the process of designing that vision and the outcomes that come from simply looking at the possibility of our future and how it will be fed. This generous grant supports our work.”

On March 20, Northwest Indian College’s Indigenous Service Learning Office hosted a march to support the international movement Idle No More, which arose in Canada due to legislative abuses of indigenous treaty rights and has spread to indigenous communities across the world.

“I thought it was extremely important that people understand that this is a global movement and people all over the world were gathering together in ceremony and resurgence on March 20, 2013,” said NWIC student Michelle Kernak, who coordinated the event.

The degree in Tribal Governance and Business Management furthers college’s growth as 4-year degree granting institution

Northwest Indian College’s (NWIC) evolution from the Lummi Indian School of Aquaculture to a college that now offers more diverse educational opportunities mirrors a growing nationwide demand for post-secondary education in tribal communities. Now, as NWIC celebrates 30 years of serving both regional and other tribes, the college continues to evolve and grow to meet new demands in Indian Country.

One of NWIC’s focuses in recent years has been on expanding its reach to more tribal communities and on providing students with the option to obtain culturally relevant four-year degrees without leaving those communities.

In February, NWIC’s growth continued when the college was approved to offer its third bachelor’s degree, a Bachelor of Arts in Tribal Governance and Business Management, by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, which oversees regional accreditation for 162 institutions.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a nationally recognized day of service where volunteers across the country give back to their communities to commemorate and celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Students at Northwest Indian College (NWIC) served in kind by participating in an event coordinated by Lummi Natural Resources, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement, Washington Conservation Corps, and the college’s Indigenous Service Learning Office.

Dr. King once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'"

On Jan. 23, two days after the official MLK Jr. Day, 16 NWIC students gave a clear response to King’s question. Through their diligent efforts, they were able to plant 200 trees at Kwina Sough to restore salmon habitat.

Student’s love of traditional medicine inspires educational pursuits

Jessica Harshman, Lummi, is 19 years old. She started out as a running start student at Northwest Indian College (NWIC) and is less than a year away from receiving her direct transfer associate degree from the college. Jessica has dreams to take her education to the next level and to use her education to help the traditions of her tribe thrive.

“I want to become a well-educated tribal member so I can work for my tribe to help make it a better place,” Jessica said. “I also want to show others that it is possible to go further than high school. They can become anything that they choose to be, not just what others say they can be. I was always told that your education is something that nobody can take from you.”

Northwest Indian College’s Cooperative Extension Office currently has three community education programs that serve the Lummi Community: Cultural Arts, Financial Literacy and Traditional Plants & Foods.

The department recently decided to form the Lummi Wellness Committee (the name may change after first meeting), which will guide the work of the department in the Lummi Community. Each member will provide new insight and fresh ideas that will allow the department to better meet the needs of the community.

Committee members were invited to join the group based on their knowledge and commitment to the Lummi Community and their familiarity with the families or students the department serves. The invitation was created by Edna Jefferson and Sunny Guillory.

Gail Julius, a Lummi Tribal member and Northwest Indian College Traditional Plants & Foods Program Assistant (part of the Cooperative Extension Office), has committed to providing the community with a healthy recipe each month.

This month she is giving readers a modern recipe that uses a traditional food: nettles. She has also provided some tips for harvesting the potentially painful produce.

“Let’s take the ‘sting’ out of nettles and get healthy now – go nettle crazy this spring and enjoy the benefits of its valuable nutrients,” Julius said. “Stinging nettles are an excellent source of nutrients, and with so many delicious recipes, you cannot go wrong including nettles in almost any dish or drink you can think of.”

From the inauguration, to an environmental rally, to tribal higher education funding, students got involved in the political process

The last month has been busy for Northwest Indian College (NWIC) Students, especially those who – while keeping up with their school work – decided to hop on planes headed across the country to join and observe the political process.

Students sit down with lawmakers
In early February, NWIC students headed to the nation’s capital for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) winter student congress meeting, during which “AIHEC Capitol Hill Visits 2013” also took place.

The Capitol Hill visits gave students the opportunity to sit down with and tell their stories to lawmakers and their representatives, and to ask for continued support for tribal higher education.

NWIC student Aissa Yazzie (Navajo) said the idea of speaking with these lawmakers was more than a little intimidating.

Congratulations, Northwest Indian College students for your outstanding work so far this academic year. Students who made NWIC’s President’s and Dean’s lists for fall quarter 2012 are included below.

In order to make the President’s List, students had to complete 12 or more credits (not including classes graded S/U, F or I) and earn a grade point average of 4.0. The following students made the President’s List: